gradient
/ˈɡɹeɪdiənt/noun, adjective
gradient is spelled G-R-A-D-I-E-N-T: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 3.0 times per million words in written English, the 15,368th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, gradient means “A slope or incline” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of gradient is gradients.
How many letters and syllables are in gradient?
| Letters | 8: G-R-A-D-I-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.0 times per million words; the 15,368th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is gradient?
Gradient appears 3.0 times per million words in written English, the 15,368th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce gradient?
- /ˈɡɹeɪdiənt/
Gradient has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-gradient.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with gradient?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as gradient.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: treading.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of gradient
- gradients plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does gradient mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A slope or incline.
- 2
A rate of inclination or declination of a slope.
- 3
The ratio of the rates of change of a dependent variable and an independent variable, the slope of a curve's tangent.
- 4
The rate at which a physical quantity increases or decreases relative to change in a given variable, especially distance.
- 5
A differential operator that maps each point of a scalar field to a vector pointed in the direction of the greatest rate of change of the scalar. Notation for a scalar field φ: ∇φ
- 6
A gradual change in color; a color gradient; gradation.
adjective
- 1
Moving by steps; walking.
- 2
Rising or descending by regular degrees of inclination.
the gradient line of a railroad
- 3
Adapted for walking, as the feet of certain birds.
- 4
Using the gradient to solve a problem.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Gradient in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pente , gradient , dégradé |
| German | Steigung, Gefälle, Neigung |
| Spanish | gradiente |
| Portuguese | degradê , gradiente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does gradient come from?
From Latin gradiēns, present participle of gradior (“to step, to walk”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).